


the trials

by BatWingsandBlackCats



Series: Carmilla Goddess AU [2]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Carmilla goddess au, F/F, Fluff, Goddess!Carmilla, Goddess!Laura, Smut, Violence, a lot of Angst actually, soulamte au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 20:58:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13509660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatWingsandBlackCats/pseuds/BatWingsandBlackCats
Summary: It's been two years since Laura woke Carmilla from her marble prison, and Laura has decided that she can never parted from Carmilla, for dying would separate them forever.There's only one solution, then.Become a goddess herself.





	the trials

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ofarrowsandspacemen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofarrowsandspacemen/gifts).



> Hey all! Hope you're all doing well! Here is the sequel to 'a kiss to crack stone', which I know several of you have been begging for for ages--I'm sorry, work got in the way, among other things. But it's finished!
> 
> More importantly though, this is a gift for ofarrowsandspacemen, for talking me into entering the Bella Books fanfic contest, and subsequently making me realize that I may actually have a future in writing. And also just for being an awesome friend. I really hope you like this, dude <3
> 
> A million thanks to SVelazquez1220, fox-is-fandumb, good-and-safe, and heyjenocide for all the help as I wrote this.
> 
> I've made another page on my blog for this AU, which you can find [here!](http://batwingsandblackcats.tumblr.com/tagged/CGAU)
> 
> I've also created a playlist for this piece which can be found [here!](https://open.spotify.com/user/batwingsandblackcats/playlist/1ZPLF22hlBBgYeGOARchlI)
> 
> thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> **even if you have already read a kiss to crack stone, please read it before reading this, due to changed made in a kiss to crack stone**

“Laura, you don’t have to do this,” Carmilla said softly, watching Laura from her place on their fur covered bed.

 

The torches cast warm light around the room, and the fire at the end of the bed merrily crackled, but Carmilla couldn’t bring herself to find joy in it.

 

Beside the bed, Laura knelt on the smooth wooden floor next to an ornate chest with a leather pack in her hand, and began pulling items from the chest. A change of clothes, a blanket, a book. She packed them neatly into the leather pack and tied it closed, slinging it onto her back as she stood.

 

Carmilla’s pained eyes flicked over Laura’s frame as she stood, the sight of Laura’s traveling clothes causing her gut to twist uncomfortably.

 

Laura wore the white tunic of a servant, the edges embroidered in runes, under a dark brown leather tunic, leather pants hanging on her hips, sturdy leather boots on her feet. A simple belt encircled her hips, a seax knife hanging from it.

 

“Laura, we can find another way,” Carmilla pleaded, hands fisting in the silver pelts under her fingers.

 

Laura stepped forward to stand before Carmilla, and ran her fingers through Carmilla’s dark hair, an easy, loving smile on her lips.

 

“I have to do this,” Laura said softly, her thumbs caressing Carmilla’s jaw. Laura knelt down in front of Carmilla, her hands dropping to Carmilla’s knees. “I want to be with you forever, and I don’t want you to be alone again.” She reached up and brushed away the tear that rolled down Carmilla’s cheek. “You’re a goddess and I’m still mortal. There isn’t any other way.”

 

\-------

 

It had been two years since Laura had woken Carmilla from the statue.

 

Progress was being made, steady and sure.

 

Danny was banned from Carmilla’s temple, Carmilla chasing her out the next time Danny showed her face.

 

Carmilla allowed those among her followers who wished to remain as warriors to stay and protect the temple, but Danny was not permitted to train them or have anything to do with them anymore. Where they had once worn tunics bearing Danny’s colors, seeing as she had been the one teaching them, they now wore black in the likeness of their Goddess, and carried black bladed swords.

 

The number of scholars that resided at the temple was rising, but Carmilla still hoped to find more. She desperately missed the days where she would see scrolls and books in the hands of nearly all the temple’s residents, ideas shared and debated, poetry written.

 

Despite the slow changes, Carmilla couldn’t possibly be happier, because her and Laura were deeply, irrevocably, madly in love.

 

They had kissed that first night, and Carmilla hadn’t dared hope for more, but since she’d woken, they hadn’t spent a night apart. Neither of them could bear it. Even so, Carmilla had been determined to properly court Laura. She had brought her a single Ipomoea alba blossom every night for weeks, laying it carefully on Laura’s pillow.

 

Laura had pressed each one in a book.

 

They slept each night, curled into one another, legs and hands intertwined, and when Carmilla began having nightmares of cold, eternal stone, shaking against Laura in the dark, Carmilla had been afraid Laura would leave, but Laura just went to the kitchens for mint tea to soothe Carmilla’s mind, and she would hold her until she fell sleep again, and wake her with kisses on her neck in the morning, fingers raking through her dark hair.

 

They’d made love for the first time at midnight among the Ipomoea alba flowers, and then returned to their chambers where they made love until the sun rose.

 

Laura had been there when Carmilla and Bagheera reunited deep in the forest after centuries apart and Laura had held Carmilla as she wept into Bagheera’s fur.

 

They’d fallen in love within a few short weeks but when they finally said it, Carmilla hung a constellation in the sky for Laura, and instead of the usual searing pain she would feel when the constellation would etch itself into her back with the others, it felt like Laura’s warm hands ghosting over her skin.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla pulled Laura up off her knees and pulled her into a bruising kiss, her hands fisting in the back of Laura’s tunic, under her pack.

 

“Just promise to come home,” Carmilla begged when they broke apart. “if you get hurt or it’s too much, come home.” She moved her hands up to cradle Laura’s face between them, and pressed her forehead to Laura's. Her fingers brushed the intricate braids she’d woven Laura’s golden hair into that morning. “She wants to kill you. Don’t let her kill you.”

 

Laura fisted her hands in Carmilla’s hair, a lump rising in her throat. “I promise,” She whispered. “I promise, I’ll come home. I’ll come home to you.”

 

Carmilla nodded, and pressed one more kiss to Laura’s lips before reluctantly letting go of Laura, standing after Laura did.

 

“I love you,” Carmilla whispered, reaching up to brush her thumb along the birthmark next to Laura’s eye.

 

Laura smiled softly at her. “I love you too,” she reached out and laced her fingers with Carmilla’s, and they quietly left their chambers.

 

The temple was eerily quiet as Laura and Carmilla made their way through the halls and corridors. Everyone was outside by the grand doors, waiting for Laura and Carmilla to appear.

 

Laura paused before the doors to the temple, and turned to Carmilla.

 

For the ritual, Carmilla had partially shed her human form. Laura had watched in awe earlier that night, only having seen it once before, as Carmilla let herself brush up against her godly form. Her usual black tunic and leather pants had melted away to reveal a dress that looked as if it had been woven from the night sky itself. Inky blackness with pricks of light robed her body, purple and blue faintly swirling through it, and it moved as if it was made of air, but there was still a weight to it the made it flow fluidly around her body. Sleeves extended past her hands and the neck dipped low, leaving her milky, nearly glowing skin to catch the light, and her eyes glowed with soft light. Around her shoulders was draped a silver pelt like the ones hanging in their chambers, fastened at her left shoulder with a long silver pin. Silver arm bands adorned her wrists, ends capped with panther heads, and from a leather belt around her hips hung a seax knife not unlike Laura’s, but forged from a star.

 

Laura reached out and touched Carmilla’s cheek. her tears had dried, and she’d foregone face paint, but her hair was woven into braids much like Laura’s, the rest of her loose hair tumbling over her shoulders, mingling with silver fur.

 

Carmilla’s dark eyes stared back at Laura, and she brought her hand up to rest atop Laura’s at her cheek.

 

“I’m coming home,” Laura murmured one last time, with a small smile.

 

Carmilla returned Laura’s smile, albeit a bit wobbly, and with a wave of her hand, the doors to the temple creaked open before them.

 

Carmilla and Laura stepped out onto the stone that surrounded the temple, Carmilla gazing out over her people, and of the followers of the other gods that had come along to witness the event. The sun was setting on the horizon, splashing red and purples and oranges across the sky, and overhead faint stars were coming into view. The priestesses had lit three huge bonfires, two flanking the doors to the temple, and one down the steps, in the courtyard. Torches were lit, and smaller fires were scattered about, the temple bathed in warm light, the smell of wood smoke heavy in the air. Clouds bearing the promise of snow moved ever closer.

 

Carmilla’s people watched in awe.

 

It had been thousands of years since this many gods were in one place.

 

And for a mortal, no less.

 

Matska, Goddess of the Sun, stood beside Carmilla, though a few steps back, swathed in red and gilded in gold, a golden headdress encircling her head, her jet hair woven in her headdress and splayed over her shoulders. Golden necklaces hung from her neck, golden bands winding their way up her arms, and the light of the fires glinted off her adornments and her dark skin and she seemed to glow in the approaching twilight.

 

Beside her stood Melanippe, Goddess of the Hunt, her ever present hunting leathers robing her body. A wool cloak and a thick bear hide were clasped around her neck, her dark curly hair surrounding her face and shoulders like a regal mane. A quiver of arrows was slung across her body as well as a bow, etched and engraved and thousands of years old. Tattoos crept up her chin and down her arms beneath her sleeves, and to her right, hand clasped in Mel’s, stood Mel’s wife and Goddess of Wolves, Charlotte. The fire danced in her dark eyes and her face was hooded by a russet wolf pelt, three wolves flanking the two of them. One wolf sat beside Bagheera, the two of them nuzzling each other.

 

William stood silently, the God of Death forever cast in shadows. Black soot was smeared around his eyes, bones hanging around his neck, a raven sitting on each shoulder. The shadows that shrouded the God of Death covered his body, and Laura was unable to tell if he was dressed in fabric or if shadows themselves were his clothing. A black staff was clasped in his hands.

 

His twin, JP, God of Knowledge, stood stiffly beside him in his crisp purple robes, forever a leather-bound book in hand. Symbols and runes littered his skin, creeping up and down his arms and neck and in the corners of his eyes. his eyes were soft yet unnerving, each eye having two irises, two pupils.

 

Perry, Goddess of the Hearth, stood near one of the bonfires, feeling at home in front of the heat. Dressed in layers of brown and orange and bronze, a simple apron tied around her waist, wheat woven into her fiery curls, she stood with her hands clasped behind her back. The scent of cinnamon and clove rolled off of her, and her hands were almost as warm as the fires, her eyes like liquid amber.

 

LaFontaine, Goddex of the Forge stood to Perry’s right, covered in soot from head to toe, the black dust worked into their red tunic, scorch marks on their pants. A worn and singed leather apron hung from their neck, a forging hammer in each hand that glowed a soft red, and their hair smoldered like the coals in their forge. An eyepatch covered one of their eyes, or where their eye used to be.

 

Finally, at the end, stood Kirsch, the God of Wine, an easy smile on his face, a wineskin in hand. He wore no furs, the wine keeping him warm from the inside, but thick woolen pants sheathed his legs, cinched tight up to his knees, tucked into leather boots. The sleeves were shorn from his tunic, and gnarled grape vines sprouted from his arms, wrapped tightly against his flesh. The scent of grapes, sweet and musky and sour, emanated from him, his hands stained purplish-red. His hair was shaved on either side of his head, the strip of hair that remained ending in a braid.

 

Laura’s eyes swept over them, Gods that she had come to consider friends over the last two years.

 

Carmilla held up a hand, and the murmuring of the crowd ceased as all eyes fell to their Goddess and her love.

 

“There have been rumors about why we are all here,” Carmilla said. She didn’t speak loudly, but she could be heard clearly across the courtyard, her voice mingling with the crackling of the fires, the hiss of the wind. She squeezed Laura’s hand gently, and glanced at her, the glow of her eyes growing stronger. “Laura, my soulmate, is leaving for the Trials tonight,” Carmilla’s face had become almost stony, but her eyes gave away her fear. “If--“ Carmilla’s voice caught, but just barely. “--she returns, she will return a Goddess.”

 

The crowd erupted into hushed whispers again.

 

A God’s mortal lover hadn’t left for the Trials in eight decades.

 

Carmilla held a hand out again to silence her people, their anxious whispering setting her teeth on edge.

 

“She is permitted a gift from each willing God to help her through the Trials,” Carmilla continued, and then turned to Mattie.

 

Mattie stepped forward, a bundle of folded red cloth appearing in her hands.

 

“A cloak, to keep you warm,” Mattie said simply. “can’t have my sister’s lover freezing to death on my watch, I’d never hear the end of it.” She said with a wicked grin, but Laura could see the flicker of genuine care in Mattie’s dark eyes, and smiled back at her as she dipped her head in thanks.

 

Mel and Charlotte stepped forward next, and Mel held out a bow and a quiver of arrows. The bow looked ancient, though not as old as the one Mel wore on her own back. It was stained black with age, but it was polished and gleamed like glass in the light of the fire, symbol of the Hunt carved into the wood.

 

“A bow to keep you safe, and to feed you, if need be.” Mel said, and then grinned cheekily. “That is, if you can draw it, Holly Girl.”

 

Laura breathed out a laugh, but accepted the bow and quiver graciously.

 

Charlotte beckoned for two of the wolves to follow her. Escorts to keep her safe on the journey to the shore.

 

Will stepped forward next, and presented Laura with a small, polished stone. Turn thrice to call upon the advice of the Dead.

 

JP’s gift was a simple touch of two fingers to Laura’s forehead. Instant understanding and mastery of the bow Mel had given her.

 

Perry held out a bundle wrapped in white cloth. Traveling bread, to fill Laura’s stomach no matter how little of it she ate.

 

LaFontaine held out one of their forging hammers with a grin and simply said, “You’ll know when to use it.”

 

Kirsch handed a wineskin to Laura, to lift her spirits when the future looked hopeless.

 

Laura thanked them all again for their gifts, and placed all of them into her pack before she returned to stand before Carmilla.

 

Carmilla took a breath and reached into the folds of her dress, and produced a small lantern. it was made of silver, in the shape of a teardrop, the glass etched with runes and symbols and words in languages Laura couldn’t read. She held it out to Laura.

 

“A lantern holding the north star, to light your way and lead you home,” Carmilla said, giving Laura a soft smile as Laura took it.

 

Laura gingerly took the lantern from Carmilla, a lump rising in her throat. “Thank you,” She whispered, and fastened the lantern to her belt.

 

Mattie stepped forward, and lay a hand on Carmilla’s shoulder.

 

“It’s time for the bloodletting, sis,” She said, and gently squeezed Carmilla’s shoulder.

 

Carmilla nodded, and turned so that she stood before Laura, their sides visible to the crowd.

 

“Shed your tunics,” Carmilla said, looking into Laura’s eyes. Her own eyes seemed to glow brighter as her fingers twitched with anxiety, hidden by her sleeves.

 

Laura did as she was told, and set her pack, bow, and quiver down by her feet before pulling her tunics off. Years of using a communal bathhouse had made her used to being exposed in front of others, but the cold winter wind bit into her exposed skin, goosebumps rising up her arms and down her chest.

 

Carmilla swallowed, steeling herself for the next part of the ritual. “Are you willing to spill blood to begin the Trials?” Carmilla asked in a steady voice as she drew her seax knife. The black blade flashed in the fire light.

 

Laura’s answer rung out clear over the courtyard.

 

“Yes.”

 

Carmilla raised her knife and touched the blade to Laura’s chest, between her breasts. “I’m sorry,” She whispered so only Laura could hear, but Laura just watched her with soft, loving eyes, and gave her a small nod. Carmilla pressed the edge of the blade to Laura’s flesh, creating a shallow cut, and her heart clenched as blood oozed from the wound and trickled down Laura’s stomach.

 

A flicker of a wince crossed Laura’s face, but she didn’t make a sound. She reached out and touched Carmilla’s hand gently, wanting to comfort her.

 

Carmilla reached down and picked up Laura’s tunics, and helped her back into them, but she didn’t tie Laura’s leather tunic closed. Instead, she placed her hand over the cut, pressing the fabric of Laura’s white servant’s tunic to it, until she felt Laura’s blood seep through, warm and sticky.

 

Given blood needed to be shown to enter the Trials.

 

But not just Laura’s blood.

 

Laura drew her own knife, and gently took Carmilla’s hand, and with pain in her eyes, sliced the pad of Carmilla’s thumb open.

 

Carmilla gave Laura a small, reassuring smile, and lifted her hand to draw a rune in her blood on Laura’s forehead.

 

“It is done,” Carmilla said, her fingers brushing Laura’s birthmark as she lowered her hand. “the Trials have begun.”

 

“Not quite,” Laura said softly, and pulled a scrap of linen from her pocket, and pressed it to the growing red stain on her chest. It would heal soon enough. When the stain spread to the linen scrap, she pressed it into Carmilla’s hand, and with her other hand, she gathered a few drops on her thumb, and reached up, dragging her thumb from Carmilla’s left eyebrow, around, and down below her eye. “so you have a part of me, while I’m away,” Laura said softly, and touched her forehead to Carmilla’s.

 

Laura suddenly felt something soft collide with her hip, and she looked down to find Bagheera looking up at her with her wide, yellow eyes. Laura knelt down and leaned forward, and Bagheera bumped her head against Laura’s much like how Carmilla always did, and then licked Laura’s cheek with the tip of her great tongue. Laura smiled and nuzzled Bagheera’s cheek before standing again, her hand reluctantly leaving Bagheera’s soft fur.

 

The lump in her throat that Carmilla had been fighting since that morning returned, and she couldn’t help herself. She surged forward and kissed Laura, and the small crowd in the courtyard cheered.

 

“Go,” Carmilla whispered. “before I’m unable to let you go.” She ran her knuckles down Laura's cheek and pressed a kiss to Laura’s jaw.

 

“I love you,” Laura said, and hugged Carmilla tightly, and just like that, Laura was gone, walking down the steps of the temple and through the parted crowd, pack on her back and two wolves at her heels.

 

Carmilla watched as the silver light from the lantern bobbed gently as Laura began walking down the mountain, face unreadable, but her eyes gave away her fear. “I love you too,” she breathed into the wind.

 

Mattie came up from behind Carmilla, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come, sis,” She said in that soft way only Mattie could speak. “the little starling will make it, you know she will. So determined she is, to a fault.” She squeezed Carmilla’s shoulder, her other hand reaching up to stroke her little sister’s hair. “you need to eat, come on.”

 

Carmilla begrudgingly let Mattie turn her away from the silver light that was slowly descending the mountainside, and lead her inside where a feast was prepared to celebrate Laura’s departure.

 

\-------

 

Laura was afraid.

 

Afraid of what lie ahead, and afraid of the dark, the cold. Leaving Carmilla behind.

 

Laura paused, the wolves stopping as well on either side of her. She pulled her pack from her back and pulled out the cloak from Mattie, unfurling it. It was red, an orange and yellow sunburst starting at the shoulders and cascading down the length of the cloak. It felt warm in her hands, like touching a patch of summer sun. Laura fastened the cloak around her shoulders, and immediately felt a delicious warmth seep into her bones, the chill of the night only felt on her face, and she sighed in relief. Laura drew up the deep hood and patted each wolf on the head, and continued on.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla was quiet through the feast, sipping at wine she wasn’t tasting, and hardly touching the food in front of her. She stared forward, unseeing, slouching in her chair as her mind whirled a mile a minute, worry and fear eating at each other.

 

“Hey, Karnstein,” Came a voice suddenly, and Carmilla looked to her left to find Mel and Charlotte looking at her with soft eyes.

 

Carmilla sighed and sat up, running a hand through her hair, fingers stumbling over the braids. The formality of the occasion was beginning to gnaw at her, and she just wanted to change into her linen sleeping clothes and unwind all of her braids, except she didn’t, at the same time, because Laura had put her hair in those braids.

 

The scrap of linen stained with Laura’s blood was still clenched in her left hand.

 

“I don’t need your pity, Huntress,” Carmilla grit out, and drained her goblet, quickly refilling it.

 

Mel roller her eyes. “I’m not giving you pity,” She said. “What I’m saying is, Laura is strong. Incredibly strong for a mortal. She’ll make it through.”

 

“The Trials were grueling,” Charlotte said in her soft voice, her hand on Mel’s forearm. Her wolf nuzzled her leg. “I won’t deny it. The last trial is different for everyone, it will be her personal Hell, of sorts. Or at least, something very personal to her.”

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and drained her goblet for a second time. “If you’re trying to make me feel better about my lover possibly returning home dead, then you’re doing a terrible job. Mother wants to kill Laura. She’s still furious that Laura exists, and that she freed me.”

 

Mel sighed. “We know," She said, “but Inanna is bound by rules. She can throw everything she has at Laura, but if Laura passes the Trials, she passes. Inanna can’t do anything against it. She can’t kill Laura out of spite. And Laura can pass. We all know this.”

 

Carmilla leaned back in her chair, her eyes briefly closing as she set down her goblet. They were right, she knew this, but the pit of dread was still ever present in her stomach.

 

“Weren’t you afraid?” Carmilla asked weakly, her eyes still closed.

 

Mel glanced at Charlotte, their fingers entwining tightly. “Of course,” Mel said simply.

 

Eighty-five years ago, Mel had fallen in love with one of her huntresses, and after five years, Charlotte made the decision to enter the Trials, both of them unwilling to eventually be parted. She had emerged from the Trials as the Goddess of Wolves, and she watched over the wolves of the world, particularly those who dwelt in the thick forests that surrounded her and Mel’s temple. All hunting of wolves by Mel’s people, whether it be out of necessity or ritual, had immediately ceased upon pain of death.

 

Upon waking, Carmilla’s heart had ached at missing such an important time for her best friend. She hadn’t even met Charlotte before waking, having been turned to stone centuries before Charlotte was even born, but over the last two years, she’d been determined to make up for lost time.

 

“I was terrified,” Mel confessed, “but she’s strong.” She looked to Charlotte and smiled softly, and leaned over and kissed the corner of Charlotte’s lips. “I knew she would make it.” She turned back to Carmilla. “And so will Laura.”

 

\-------

 

As Laura descended the mountain, the clouds that had been approaching the temple overtook the sky. Snow flurries quickly turned into larger flakes, the wind picking up and plastering Laura’s cloak to her back. She was forever grateful for the cloak, knowing that without it, she would freeze to death.

 

Charlotte’s wolves stayed close by her side, seemingly unhindered by the storm. Their ears were perked forward, listening for anything that could threaten their charge. Their silver fur was quickly becoming caked with snow, and Laura quickly led them off the path and into the trees to get out of the worst of the snow and the wind.

 

The cloak from the Sun Goddess was keeping her wonderfully warm, but the wind was stinging her face, each snowflake feeling like needles against her skin. She knew that eventually, the wind would wear on the wolves as well.

 

As long as she could keep the path in sight, she would be alright.

 

The trio continued on like that for a while, hurrying down the mountain, but Laura stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a massive, bone shattering growl behind her.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla had finally gotten around to taking some bread to eat, knowing that two goblets of Kirsch’s strong wine on an empty stomach was never a good idea, when two of her warriors came running into the hall from outside, looking alarmed.

 

Carmilla stood abruptly. “What?” She demanded, eyes flicking between them.

 

“The storm is worsening, Goddess,” One woman said, gripping the hilt of her sword. Her short-cropped hair was dusted with snow, as were the furs round her shoulders.

 

“It doesn’t seem natural,” said the other.

 

Carmilla set the bread down and slipped between them, hurrying towards the door. When she burst through the grand doors to the outside, another stone-rattling roar sounded on the mountainside, and the hairs on the back of Carmilla’s neck stood up.

 

“Theo, you _bastard_.” Carmilla growled, and turned to the warriors that had followed her back outside. “Keep the fires lit, as big as you can make them,” she ordered, and hurried down the steps as her warriors ran to the wood piles to feed the fires.

 

Light exploded from her eyes, fists clenched beside her. She willed the stars to shine brighter, for Laura, but also for one other reason.

 

\-------

 

_Trolls_.

 

Trolls were known to live in the mountains, but one hadn’t been seen for an age.

 

It took quite a lot to wake them.

 

Laura got her wits about her again and began running down the mountain faster, the wolves running on either side of her.

 

She did _not_ know how to fight a troll.

 

“Just get to the docks, get to the docks,” Laura chanted to herself as she ran through the trees, gripping the hilt of her knife.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla growled in frustration, light blazing from her eyes. The clouds overhead were too thick, and the light from her starts wasn’t making it through.

 

Trolls didn’t like the stars any more than they liked the sun, but they could tolerate the stars as long as they weren’t too bright.

 

If the clouds weren’t in the way, they would be running back to their caves, howling in pain by now.

 

“Is this your _gift_ , Theo?” Carmilla snarled in anger.

 

\-------

 

The blizzard was growing worse, the air around Laura turning white, thick with snow. Even so, Laura caught the faint whiff of salt, and her heart leapt, knowing she was getting closer to the docks.

 

Behind her, she could hear the crashing of the troll’s footsteps, trees trunks and limbs snapping as it barreled through the woods.

 

As Laura ran, she desperately tried to remember anything from the chapter on trolls she’d read in one of the many books in the library.

 

Trolls like the dark, caves, moss, and dead things.

 

Trolls didn’t like... _light_.

 

Laura skidded to a halt, frantically fumbling with the lantern tied to her belt. The troll was growing closer, and began hurling rocks at Laura, now that she was in range. She dodged a few, shrieking in surprise, desperately hoping that the wolves were ducking too, when she finally got the lantern free from her belt.

 

Laura held the lantern close to her chest and ran out into the path of the troll.

 

“Come on, just a little closer,” Laura muttered to herself, her heart beating out of her chest.

 

She really hoped she remembered this right.

 

Both wolves stood in front of her, snarling and growling at the troll, snapping the teeth.

 

When the troll came into view, roaring angrily, it’s gnarled, grey-skinned hands full of rocks, Laura thrust out her fist, clutching the lantern.

 

The light of the north star shone blindingly bright from the lantern, and the troll screamed in agony, the silver light of the star searing it’s rough, grey flesh. The troll dropped its rocks as it scrambled back, still screaming, and started scrabbling back up the mountain to its cave.

 

Laura watched it go, still holding out the lantern, with her mouth hanging open.

 

“It worked!” She breathed, a grin spreading across her face.

 

All at once, the wind seemed to ease up, the snow slowing until the flakes lazily drifted down, gleaming like crystals in the moonlight.

 

Laura breathed a sigh of relief and looked to make sure both wolves were alright. They rushed up to her, sniffing at her to make sure she was alright, and then stood on either side of her again, feet firmly planted in the snow.

 

“Come on,” Laura said softly, patting them both on the shoulder gently, and turned towards the shore again.

 

She could see the docks, a speck in the distance.

 

\-------

 

“The storm seems to be slowing, Goddess,” one of the warriors said, coming down the stairs to stand beside Carmilla.

 

Carmilla sighed, her eyes growing dull and human again. “She used the lantern,” She murmured, relief flooding her veins.

 

The warrior looked behind herself and saw Mattie approaching. She bowed quickly to the Sun Goddess, and hurried up to the temple again to leave the sisters be.

 

“She’s alright, sis,” Mattie said gently, a hand coming up to take Carmilla’s. “Come inside, you still haven’t eaten, and we both know Kirsch’s wine isn’t good on an empty stomach.”

 

\-------

 

The faintest hint of dawn showed itself on the horizon when Laura finally made it to the docks.

 

She’d been expecting the grey water and the biting wind, somehow even colder than it was up the mountain, but what she wasn’t expecting was the two figures waiting for her on the docks, next to a small longboat that was moored beside the rough-hewn timbers that jutted out of the water.

 

On the docks stood Elle, Goddess of the Sea, swathed in blue silks and her feet bare, seemingly unbothered by the cold, and beside her stood Danny, Goddess of War, leather skirt hiked up high over her thighs, boots laced to her knees, a red cloak draped around her shoulders. Two swords were strapped to her waist, a gold shield on her arm, a spear in hand, Pauldrons and vambraces were strapped tightly to her arms and shoulders, gilded in gold and flashing brightly in the red dawn light.

 

Laura paused a few steps in front of them, unsure of what to do. Danny was, now, a sworn enemy of Carmilla’s, and Elle…she was rarely seen by the other gods, preferring her own company, or so Laura had heard.

 

“If you’re here to stop me, you can’t,” Laura said, though her voice wavered ever so slightly. “The Trials have begun, you can’t interfere.”

 

“We’re not here to interfere,” Danny said, "we’re here to help.”

 

Laura looked at them, confused. “Why would you want to help me?” She asked, shoulders squared. “Carmilla’s made you her enemy, you led her temple astray.”

 

“Yes, but maybe I’ve seen the error in my ways,” Danny said, shrugging a shoulder.

 

Laura looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Somehow I don’t believe that,” Laura said dryly.

 

“Believe what you like,” Elle said, “but take these gifts.” She gestured to the longboat, made of white pine, carved with runes and creatures, a white sail tethered to it’s mast. It sat in stark contrast to the water, almost seeming to glow. “A longboat to take you across the water to Niðafjöll.”

 

Laura nodded in thanks as Danny unbuckled the golden shield from her arm.

 

“I know you lover doesn’t favor violence, so I figured this would suit you more,” Danny said, holding the shield out to Laura.

 

Laura took it warily, but when she saw that there didn’t seem to be some hidden threat, she strapped it to her arm. “Thank you," She said with another nod.

 

“You may not believe it, but we wish you well,” Danny said. “Inanna is not to be trusted. I understand that now.”

 

“Took you long enough,” Laura said, and turned to the wolves. She knelt down and hugged each of them, quietly thanking them for their company, and off they ran back towards Carmilla’s temple.

 

Laura then turned to climb into the longboat, and quickly shucked off her pack and the shield, laying both gently at the rear of the boat, and wrapped the cloak around herself a little tighter, the wind coming off the water bitterly cold. At the bow of the longboat was a dragon, carved into the white wood, it’s mouth open with a curled tongue. From the mouth, Laura hung Carmilla’s lantern, the light of the star cutting through the fog.

 

Far in the distance, stood the menacing outline of Niðafjöll, or Inanna’s Crown. A ring of jagged black mountains rising from the water, forever shrouded in mist, an eerie yellow light glinting off the water at what was said to be the entrance.

 

Laura unfurled the sail and tied it tight to the mast, and all on its own, the boat began to drift away from the docks, towards Inanna’s Crown.

 

As Laura nestled herself into the rear of the boat beside her things, exhaustion suddenly settling into her bones. Her eyes were drooping, her stomach growling, and the warmth of the cloak was making her drowsy. She reached into her pack and took out a hunk of the traveling bread from Perry to eat, and hummed in contentment at the sweet taste of honey and cinnamon.

 

As she ate, she pulled the book from the bottom of her pack, and carefully opened it. It was the book she’d pressed each flower Carmilla had given to her in, and her heart ached as she ran her fingers over the delicate, dried petals.

 

She closed the book again with a sigh, and hugged it to her chest.

 

It was a poor substitute for Carmilla, but it was something.

 

It was a long way to Inanna’s Crown, and Laura found her drooping eyelids too heavy to keep open anymore.

 

\--------

 

Carmilla hadn’t slept a wink.

 

The feast had gone long into the night, but Carmilla had retired early, needing the solitude of hers and Laura’s chambers. She’d returned to her human form and dressed in Laura’s clothes before climbing under the blankets and furs, but she’d laid awake all night, listening to the muffled music and chatter emanating from the feasting hall. Bagheera had curled up to her back, and while Carmilla loved her heavy warmth, both of them longed for the soft sound of Laura’s breath as she slept.

 

Carmilla had been restless and worried, but despite that, she must have passed out in the early morning, seeing as she was slowly being woken by the feeling of gentle fingers combing through her hair.

 

“Laura?” Carmilla gasped, her eyes flying open as her head jerked up, but she deflated slightly when she found that it was Mattie sitting beside her in bed, and not Laura. Blushing in embarrassment, she buried her face in her pillow again, pointedly avoiding the eyes of her sister as Mattie chuckled beside her.

 

“Hi, Mattie,” Carmilla grumbled as she felt the tremor of Mattie’s laugh.

 

“Morning, Luna,” Mattie murmured, Carmilla’s millennia old pet name rolling off her tongue.

 

“I’m really not in the mood to be teased right now, Mattie,” Carmilla sighed, face still buried in her pillow.

 

“For once, that’s not what I’m here for,” Mattie said. “is it so inconceivable that I might just want to be here for my sister?”

 

Carmilla finally looked up, giving Mattie a tired, disbelieving look. “The last several thousand years have set a pattern,” She said dryly.

 

Mattie sighed and rolled her eyes. “I admit that a few centuries ago I would have, but this is different.” She ran her knuckles down Carmilla’s cheek. “She’s changed you. You’re softer now, with her here. I like it, and I don’t want to see it pass.”

 

“It will if she doesn’t make it home.” Carmilla said, eyes drifting to focus on nothing as her fingers brushed over the fabric of Laura’s pillow. “Mattie, every time I close my eyes I see Maman’s guards carrying Laura’s body up the mountain on a stretcher. If Laura’s doesn’t make it, Mother will have to turn me to stone again, or I will burn everything she loves in a hail of stars.”

 

\-------

 

Laura’s brief rest was interrupted by a sudden, jarring scraping that rocked the little longboat, and woke Laura with a start.

 

Laura scrambled into a sitting position, and found herself amongst chunks of ice, bumping up against the boat and each other, scraping against the white wood of the boat and making it unsteady under her feet. She grabbed the rudder and steadied to the boat, heart still pounding out of her chest.

 

The air had somehow gotten colder, and it stung Laura’s face, the breath in her lungs feeling like ice. Inanna’s Crown loomed closer, the eerie yellow light at the entrance growing brighter and bigger. The ice seemed to stretch for miles, large and small chunks bobbing in the black water.

 

With her heart in her throat, Laura carefully navigated her way through the freezing, deadly maze.

 

\-------

 

It seemed to take forever, but Laura eventually found herself before the entrance of Inanna’s Crown.

 

It felt as if her blood had become ice along with her breath as she looked up at the massive mouth of an anglerfish that marked the entrance. its lure hung like a macabre lantern hundreds of feet above Laura’s head, and she didn’t dare breathe as she sailed through it’s great maw of jagged, sword-like teeth.

 

Soon, her boat bumped against the shore, and she couldn’t tell if night had fallen already, or if it was always dark in Inanna’s Crown.

 

Laura gathered her pack and her bow and quiver, her shield, and with a breath, she stepped onto the gravely shore, took Carmilla’s lantern from the bow of the boat and tied it to her belt again, and set off.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla finally emerged from her quarters when darkness fell.

 

She didn’t pay much attention to the revelry that was still being had around the temple, still unable to bring herself to join in.

 

Instead, she walked up to the top of the mountain, Bagheera at her heels, to where the Ipomoea alba flowers bloomed, paying no mind to the snow around her.

 

When she reached the top of the mountain, she knelt and shed her tunic, her eyes beginning to glow as she drew on her power over the stars. Murmuring words in an inhuman tongue, the light pouring from her eyes became blinding, and overhead, a dozen stars were birthed, their light pouring from the newly made splits in the flesh of Carmilla’s back, the constellation etching itself into her tender skin.

 

It didn’t hurt, though.

 

Constellations for Laura never did.

 

A tear or two fell from Carmilla’s eyes, the drops glowing just as brightly as her eyes, the sensation of the constellation settling into her back feeling like Laura’s warm hands.

 

Above, a map leading home shone brightly against the inky blackness of the night sky.

 

\--------

 

Laura looked up as she saw a sudden flash overhead, and her heart squeezed in her chest when she saw the constellation. It pointed towards the temple.

 

“Almost there, Carm,” She sighed, and turned back to the way ahead.

 

There was no path, but Laura knew which way to go.

 

It was dark and cold, the wind whipping through the trees and strange noises emanated from the depths of the dark, but Laura hurried ahead, jaw set in determination. She held her bow in her hand, an arrow knocked, her shield on her arm, and bounded over rocks and fallen trees, listening for anything that might be approaching.

 

After that troll, she wasn’t going to be caught unawares again.

 

She heaved for breath, her legs burning, but she couldn’t stop. She was so close, she could feel it.

 

Stray branches whipped her face and her body, and she could feel scrapes marring her cheeks, but she didn’t care. Something was driving her, pulling her forward and she couldn’t make herself stop.

 

In the distance, she could hear roars and growls and skittering, but nothing close enough to be a threat, but even so, her eyes darted about as she ran.

 

\-------

 

Dawn was breaking in the distance as Laura finally slowed to a stop, streaked with mud and blood, her hair loosening from its braids, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about that. The rest she’d taken in the boat was long since gone, her stomach empty again, and she dropped onto a fallen tree, knees wobbly. She dug in her pack for the bundle of traveling bread and broke off a large hunk, clutching Mattie’s cloak closer to herself, trying to ignore the cold and the lightening woods around her.

 

She missed the fires at the temple, she missed her bed, and the scent of the blankets that covered it, she missed the bath her and Carmilla would retire to every night, she missed Bagheera rubbing her head on her hips as she walked by.

 

She missed Carmilla.

 

Laura sniffled as a few tears fell.

 

Gods, she missed Carmilla.

 

Laura roughly wiped her tears, only further spurred on to finish her quest by her longing for Carmilla. This was hard enough. She never wanted to know what being separated for eternity would feel like.

 

She took Kirsch’s wineskin from her bag and took a long pull from it, shuddering pleasantly as the wine warmed her from the inside.

 

_T_ _o lift your spirits when the future looks hopeless._

 

Laura could feel the heaviness in her chest lightening, relief seeping through her veins. She was almost there, and then she’d be able to go home.

 

She’d have to thank Kirsch again.

 

Laura got to her feet after another sip or two from the wineskin, feeling clearer in her head. Still tired and sore and aching for Carmilla, but it didn’t feel so heavy.

 

She was nearing the end, she could feel it.

 

\--------

 

Carmilla returned to her chambers and shed her clothes before going to one of the chests for a clean pair of trousers and a tunic. Knowing she would be unable to sleep, she splashed her face with cool water and tugged a comb through her hair before tugging on her cloak and leaving her chambers again, Bagheera at her side, footsteps silent. The scrap of linen Laura had given her was tucked against her breast under her shirt, and she’d found the night before that the smear of Laura’s blood on her brow had stained her skin like ink, seeping in and becoming part of her flesh. It made her heart swell.

 

Carmilla strode through the halls of her temple and emerged from the dim light into the morning sun, where she found her brother standing in the dappled light. The God of Death sometimes enjoyed the sunlight, much to Carmilla’s amusement.

 

\-------

 

Laura emerged from the woods smeared in mud and blood, scrapes and cuts that would soon become scars, before a great archway, the stone old and weathered and chipped. Dead winter berry vines twined around the stone, their red berries withered and dull. Words in an ancient tongue the Laura couldn’t read were etched into the stone, and seemed to glow faintly, like cooling embers. Crumbling stone walls that had once been attached to the arch stood on either side, forming a circular building, though the slate roof had collapsed some time ago.

 

Laura swallowed and looked around before entering, her grip tight on her bow, her other hand resting on the hilt of her seax knife.

 

“Hello?” She called as she stepped through the arch, her voice hoarse from the cold.

 

No answer came, just the rustle of the dead leaves as they skittered across the stone floor.

 

In the center of the room, atop a low pedestal, stood a simple anvil. The base was carved in runes that matched the door, glowing softly in the dim light. Laura slowly set down her bow and shed her pack, and stepped forward, examining the anvil.

 

“Now what?” She sighed, fingers slipping from the strangely warm iron. Laura turned back to her pack for another hunk of the traveling bread, but her hand paused as she crouched beside her bag when it hit the cool iron of the forging hammer LaFontaine had given her.

 

_“You’ll know when to use it.”_

 

Laura pulled the hammer from her pack, hefting it in her hand. It seemed to grow warmer the closer it got to the anvil, and Laura gripped the worn leather wrapped handle tight. With a grunt she brought it down onto the anvil with a crash.

 

Laura was blinded as white-hot sparks flew from the anvil, and she felt a lurching tug at her navel before everything went black.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla stood beside her brother silently for a while, the question on her mind burning a hole in her throat.

 

The winter wind whipped at both of them, plastering their cloaks to their backs. Carmilla had stopped being unnerved by Will’s skeletal figure under his clothes thousands of years before to be bothered by the bones she could see through his robes.

 

Carmilla’s hand came up to brush along where the scrap of linen from Laura was tucked against her chest.

 

“Can you see her?” She finally asked, breaking the silence.

 

Will was silent for a moment, eyes glazing over white as he peered into his domain. “No,” He said after a long pause. “I can’t see her, though she is not among the Dead.”

 

Carmilla released a sigh of relief. “She made it to the anvil,” She murmured.

 

“What lies beyond will be her own making,” Will said as his ravens took off from his shoulders.

 

\-------

 

Laura came to suddenly on her back, blinded by the dappled light streaming down from the trees above. She slowly sat up, groaning, but she paused when she caught a familiar scent on the air.

 

Balsam.

 

Her brows drew together in confusion. She hadn't remembered smelling balsam on her way up the mountain. The scent was sudden, filling her up.

 

It smelled like home.

 

Laura scrambled to her feet, joy welling up in her. She was home? Were the trials over?

 

She tightened the straps of her pack and hurried towards the path, grinning. She knew these woods, she would be home soon. She'd see Carmilla soon.

 

Around her, the woods began to darken, but Laura paid no mind. She knew her way, she could get there in the dark.

 

\-------

 

A pit was opening up in Laura’s stomach.

 

She was sure she'd passed that tree with the broken branch at least twice. Maybe three times?

 

Something was wrong.

 

She should have been home by now.

 

She knew the way, it shouldn't take this long.

 

But really, she didn't know how long it'd been. The moon overhead wasn't moving. A few minutes or a few hours could have passed, Laura didn't know which. It felt like hours. Days maybe.

 

The pit in her stomach was quickly turning to panic.

 

Something was very, very wrong.

 

Laura heard growling in the distance, and she drew her knife, heart in her throat. She was supposed be home, right? But she hadn’t seen any panthers. And the panthers in Carmilla’s woods were docile. They rarely growled.

 

Laura’s eyes flicked around the trees as she spun in circles, trying to cover her blind spots. The panther suddenly sprang from the trees with a deafening roar, landing on all fours, lips curled back to display huge, sharp white teeth. its eyes were deep brown and menacing, claws protracting to dig into the dirt.

 

So it wasn’t over.

 

The panther advanced on her, still growling, saliva dripping from its mouth. Something was familiar about this panther though, no matter how grotesque it was. The eyes. Laura knew those eyes.

 

“Bagheera?” Laura called, but if that was the panther’s name, it didn’t respond to it.

 

The panther lunged at her, swiping a paw at her. Laura ducked, narrowly missing the attack, but the panther continued to advance, snapping its teeth and hissing as it swatted at her again. Laura ducked and weaved, dodging the panther’s advances. even though she was reluctant to, she drew her knife, slashing at the panther in an attempt to get it to retreat. It worked at first, the panther shrinking back slightly, but then it grew bolder, leaping at her, jaws open wide.

 

Laura managed to leap out of its way, and suddenly, she felt a weight in her hand. She looked down, uncurling her fingers, to find the stone Will had given her, siting on her palm.

 

_Turn thrice to call upon the advice of the Dead._

 

If there was any time she could use advice, it was now.

 

Laura turned it over in her hand three times, and nothing happened.

 

The panther lunged again, claws out and teeth bared, snarling in the dark.

 

Laura scrambled away, but she was too slow. The panther’s great claws clipped her heel, causing her to stumble and crash to the ground, her ankle twisted and bleeding. She rolled onto her back with a pained gasp, teeth clenched, and suddenly the panther was on her, a great paw pressed into Laura’s chest, snapping teeth mere inches from Laura’s face. Laura stared up into those big, dark eyes that were full of anger and malice, and suddenly, she heard a voice echo in her head as the stone grew warm in her hand.

 

_“Love her,”_ Said a gentle, male voice.

 

Something twisted in Laura’s chest as she realized it was her father’s voice. Her father that she hadn’t seen in twenty-two years.

 

Swallowing fear and tears, Laura reached up slowly, and laid a gentle hand on the panther’s cheek, looking into the panther’s eyes.

 

She knew those eyes. Those dark deep brown eyes. She’d looked into those eyes thousands of times, fallen in love with those eyes.

 

_“Carmilla,”_ Laura choked out, tears leaking from her tired eyes. “Carm,” She reached up with her other hand, cradling the panther's head between her hands.  _“Carm,”_ She breathed again, moving to wrap her arms around the panther’s neck.

 

Laura felt the weight on her chest lessen, and the panting of the panther near her ear softened to the breath of a woman. A gust of wind blew past them, and as Laura opened her eyes, she watched as black smoke emanated from the panther’s body and blew away with the wind, leaving Carmilla in her human form above Laura, head bowed.

 

A smile spread across Laura’s face despite her ears, and she tilted Carmilla’s chin up, fingers softly stroking Carmilla’s pale skin. “Gods, I’ve missed you so much,” Laura sniffled, her other hand reaching u to cradle Carmilla’s face.

 

Carmilla stared at her in silence, almost unseeing, brows furrowed in confusion. She was motionless, eyes darting around Laura's face in increasing agitation.

 

“Carm?” Laura asked, beginning to get worried. “It’ me, look it’s me,” She pulled Carmilla closer to kiss the corner of Carmilla’s mouth, but before she could, Carmilla harshly shoved her away into the dirt.

 

Laura looked up at Carmilla, confused and hurt, and tried to reach out to her again, but Carmilla shoved her away again, eyes hard and beginning to glow in anger.

 

“You’re not Laura,” Carmilla said harshly, “You’re not real,” Carmilla got to her feet, and Laura limped after her.

 

“Carm—no, what’s going on?” She asked desperately, “I’m right here! It’s me!”

 

Carmilla whirled around, fists clenching, eyes glowing brighter. The moon overhead began to glow brighter as well. “You’re just another one of her tricks,” She spat. “You’re dead, Laura. You’re dead!”

 

Carmilla’s words hit Laura like a boulder, her heart pounding faster in fear. “No, no I’m not dead!” Laura cried, “I’m right here, I’m real!” She reached forward and grasped Carmilla’s wrist, bringing Carmilla’s hand to her breast, where her heart thumped erratically.

 

Confusion again flitted over Carmilla’s features, but again, it was replaced by anger, sharper than before. She wrenched her had away, snapping back and blinding light began pouring from her eyes, the outline of her form becoming blurred as she brushed up against her godly form, a growl escaping her lips. “You’re a good trick, at least,” Carmilla snarled, pain leaking from her voice. “I’ll give her that,” She circled Laura, her form ever changing, her clothes melting away to reveal the dress made of stars, but this time it was black. Not a pinprick of light in sight. It was as if she were a void, her eyes holding the only light, washing the rest of her body in shadow. Her hair began to float around her, her face becoming contorted yet still achingly beautiful. Still Carmilla.

 

Silver tears carved tracks down her face.

 

Laura’s eyes followed her, her heart feeling like it was ripping through her chest at Carmilla’s anguish. Ripping through to reach Carmilla.

 

“She killed you, Laura,” Carmilla growled, “she shot you through the heart with an arrow of mistletoe and I held you as your blood stained the earth red,” Carmilla’s chest heaved with repressed sobs, her fingers hooking into claws. “I couldn’t heal you, I watched the light leave your eyes!” She roared.

 

Laura watched her with wide, wet eyes, though she felt no fear. She couldn’t feel fear in the face of Carmilla. She never could. All she could feel was the crushing pain of her insides at Carmilla’s agony.

 

“Kill me, Laura!” Carmilla roared, continuing on her tirade, “Part of me is already dead, it died with you, kill the rest!” She demanded, cheeks awash with silver tears, eyes too bright to look at. The sky overhead shook, flashes of light that weren't lighting cracking the sky.

 

Laura’s eyes rolled back into her head and she saw visions of the world around them, Carmilla’s temple and the surrounding forests burning, panthers lying dead in the ash, Bagheera’s body broken on the steps of the temple, killed by Inanna’s guards. Mattie trying to reason with Carmilla but being unable to, another fight breaking out between the two of them, except this time it was Mattie who was scarred. Inanna’s Crown crumbling in a hail of stars and at the top of the mountain, among burning holly and Ipomoea alba flowers, knelt Carmilla, her body hunched over Laura’s corpse, wails echoing over the mountains.

 

Laura heard an echo of a thought in her head.

 

_Love her._

 

“No,” Laura gasped, shaking her head as the vision faded and her eyes returned to the scene before her. “no, I won’t,”

 

_“KILL ME LAURA! KILL ME SO I CAN BE WITH YOU AGAIN!”_ Carmilla roared, throwing her head back with a wail, and above them, an enormous crack opened up in the sky, shaking the ground beneath Laura’s feet. The trees shook and snapped around them from the force of Carmilla’s wails, and above them, stars began raining down, leaving fiery trails across the black sky.

 

“NO!” Laura cried, and leapt up, catching Carmilla’s hand with her own. She gripped Carmilla’s hand tightly, and tugged her back down into her arms.

 

Carmilla fought against her, sobs bubbling up from her throat, but her struggling slowly grew weaker as Laura spoke to her, steady and soft. Carmilla's form became solid again, hair falling around her shoulders, eyes dimming. Laura’s hands became coated in silver as she wiped Carmilla’s tears away, and soon, Carmilla became warm again, no longer cold like the sky. Linen again robed her body instead of the dark sky above.

 

“I’m here,” Laura said gently, tilting Carmilla’s chin up, and she kissed her tenderly, fingers gently tangling in Carmilla’s hair.

 

Carmilla looked drained as they broke apart, her eyes dull and shoulders slumped.

 

“It is you,” Carmilla breathed, reaching up to touch Laura’s face, tired, dull eyes full of wonder. Her thumb brushed Laura’s birthmark.

 

“It’s me,” Laura whispered, pressing her forehead to Carmilla’s. “it’s me…I’m here,” she kissed Carmilla again. “I love you,”

 

Carmilla opened her mouth to respond, but as she did, Laura felt Carmilla’s body stiffen unnaturally. Laura looked down, and to her horror, found marble creeping up Carmilla’s chest, her clothes turning to stone, turning cold.

 

“Laura—“ Carmilla gasped as the stone reached her neck.

 

“No, no,” Laura gasped, eyes wide in terror. “Carm, No!!” Laura cried unable to do anything else as marble consumed her lover, Carmilla’s fearful face frozen in stone. Laura clasped Carmilla’s face between her shaking hands, knuckles white, eyes darting around Carmilla’s stone face. Laura surged forward, desperately pressing her lips to Carmilla’s, but when she pulled back, nothing happened. “No,” She whimpered, tears flowing freely as she pressed kiss after kiss to Carmilla’s lips, her wails growing louder, more desperate.

 

Laura suddenly felt something yanking her backwards, but she griped onto Carmilla’s stone arms, refusing to be parted from her again.

 

The pull grew worse and Laura’s grip began to slip, the stone slick under Laura’s fingers, and a sob ripped from her throat as she was torn away from Carmilla, falling backwards.

 

“CARMILLA!” She screamed, before her world went black.

 

\-------

 

Laura’s eyes flew open as she jolted up from the ground, rolling onto her hands and knees as she retched, but nothing came up. She fell onto her side again, shaking and gasping for air, body slick with clammy sweat, like she’d sweat out a fever.

 

“That was rather impressive, dear,” Came a voice above her.

 

Laura groaned as she rolled onto her back again, eyes squinting against the bright sunlight as she tried to make out who was looking down at her. Her eyes flicked about her surroundings, and she realized that she was lying beside the anvil again, the evening sun coming through the caved in roof and shining in her eyes. The hammer lay beside her, the stone from Will in her hand, Carmilla’s lantern still tied to her belt.

 

The figure above her was dressed in a white dress, red streaks of dried blood staining the fabric, though Laura couldn’t make out her face until the figure moved to block out the light. The woman’s dark hair was pulled back tightly in an intricate braid, her grey eyes sparkling and dangerous, and from the crown of her head, woven into her hair, was a crown of shorn antler tips. Her features were sharp, lips painted black and her eyes veiled, and she gave off an unnerving energy that had Laura wanting more than ever to be in Carmilla’s embrace.

 

_Carmilla._

 

The woman standing before Laura was Inanna.

 

“What did you do to her?!” Laura growled, scrambling to her feet, but with a simple gesture, Inanna sent her crashing back to her knees. Laura let out a gasp of pain, but didn’t let it deter her. “Bring her back!” She cried, “Bring her back!” She drew her knife, but with another gesture, Inanna easily knocked the knife from Laura’s hand, chuckling.

 

“Your little lover is...regrettably, perfectly fine,” Inanna said, somehow examining one of her nails before looking back to Laura with a smirk. “though I must say, what your mind conjured up was thrilling. I couldn’t have tortured you better myself.” She said with a chuckle. “Though, turning Carmilla to stone again was all me. I couldn’t resist.”

 

Laura grit her teeth, chest heaving as her head swam. “That was…what?” She breathed, her head beginning to pound from the confusion. All she could see was Carmilla’s fearful face etched in stone.

 

“All of that was in your head, sweetheart,” Inanna said with a grin.

 

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” Laura growled, “Carmilla calls me that… _only_ Carmilla.”

 

Inanna hummed, eyes flicking over Laura’s battered and bloodied frame. “I suppose you’d make a decent goddess. You have the strength for it, surprisingly.”

 

“I passed?” Laura asked, her shoulders sagging, eyes wide and hopeful.

 

“Seems so,” Inanna said, and then clenched her fist.

 

Laura cried out as searing pain exploded across her back, and her eyes rolled back as she screamed, her back arching, fingers hooking into claws.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla stood on the steps beside Mel, looking out over the mountain.

 

“Charlotte said Laura should be coming home soon, if Laura’s trials are similar to what her’s was,” Mel said, looking over to her friend as she leaned against one of the pillars that flanked the doors to the temple.

 

Carmilla stared out across the frozen landscape, watching as snow lazily drifted down from the clouds above. Night was falling over the mountains but Carmilla’s moon and stars were obscured like the clouds. Much like how Carmilla was feeling.

 

Carmilla began to answer her, but before she could say anything, the clouds opened up, unnaturally fast, and the moon, which should only have been a waxing crescent, broke through, huge and full and glowing bright like the sun, washing the snow-covered mountains in blue light.

 

Mattie and the other gods came busting through the doors to the temple, coming up behind Carmilla and Mel as thy gaped at the moon.

 

“Carm—what are you doing?” Mattie asked, laying a hand on Carmilla’s arm.

 

“I’m not doing anything,” Carmilla breathed, “that isn't me,”

 

\-------

 

The searing, white-hot pain finally ceased, and Laura found herself on her hands and knees once again, an aching, throbbing pain across her back. She felt it in her hands and knees as well, and suddenly realized that she was on the gravelly shore of Inanna’s Crown, by the longboat that was still moored in the water, waiting to take Laura home. She shifted back to lean on her heels, and she found that the clothes she wore weren’t her own. Her servant’s tunic was gone, as were her leather pants and boots. In their place, she now wore a dress of soft white, blue and silver thread adorning the edges, the sides slit up to her thighs. Around her shoulders still hung the cloak from Mattie, but it was covered with a thick, silver pelt, and her legs were sheathed in black leather leggings to ward off the cold, black leather boots on her feet.

 

Upon her head sat a headdress of small reindeer antlers still covered in their dark, soft suede, interwoven with holly and mistletoe, a headband of white leather holding it to her head. A silver medallion sat between her brows, catching the light of the full moon overhead. White paint was smeared around her eyes, symbols and runes drawn on her chin and down her neck.

 

“You are Goddess of the Moon,” Inanna said, and Laura looked up to find Inanna still standing before her. “The Moon chose you. You are free to return home, but don’t think I’ve forgotten that Carmilla is free because of you,” She said, a hint of a snarl on her lips, “the three of us have all the time in the world, now. I will _always_ be watching.”

 

Laura rose to her feet with a grunt, palms aching from the gravel beneath her feet. “That was your own misstep,” Laura said, shoulders squared, eyes determined. “you left that opportunity open, you’re just bitter that I exist. That Carmilla is worthy of love.”

 

With a snarl on her lips, Inanna disappeared as a gust of wind blew along the shore, and Laura was left alone, only the sound of the wind and the lapping of the water at the shore to keep her company.

 

Laura picked her bow up, and started towards the boat, untying the lantern from her belt along the way. She hung the lantern again at the dragon’s mouth at the bow of the boat, and stepped in, settling in the rear of the boat along with her pack as it began to carry her home.

 

\-------

 

Carmilla hadn’t moved from her spot outside the temple since they’d all seen the moon emerge from the clouds.

 

Her heart was in her throat, watching the mountain like a hawk for any kind of movement, Bagheera sitting beside her, eyes just as sharp.

 

Bagheera’s ears pricked up when she heard the sound of a reindeer’s call.

 

Carmilla’s eyes flicked to where the sound was coming from, and her heart sank slightly when she only saw a few little reindeer trotting about, but she paused when she noticed that it wasn’t just a few. There were dozens, all baying and walking about, but slowly, like they were waiting for something.

 

Someone.

 

Over the crest of the hill, Carmilla saw her.

 

Laura slowly appeared, walking up the mountain, and Carmilla’s breath caught at the sight of her, dressed in furs and leather and a white dress, a regal headdress on her head, bathed in moonlight and surrounded by little reindeer.

 

“Laura,” She breathed, hurrying down the steps, Bagheera at her heels. “Laura!”

 

Carmilla watched as Laura’s face broke into a wide grin, and Laura’s steps grew quicker, the herd of little reindeer around her parting to make way for them. As soon as they met, Carmilla clasped Laura’s face between her hands, bottom lip trembling, eyes flicking around Laura’s face as though she couldn’t believe that Laura stood before her. She brushed her thumb along Laura’s birthmark, sighing as Laura’s hands cradled her face as well. Bagheera circled them, purring and chirping as she bumped her head into Laura’s hips repeatedly. Laura patted Bagheera’s head, giggling.

 

“You’re here,” Carmilla breathed, relief surging through her at the feeling of Laura, warm and alive.

 

“I passed,” Laura said with a blinding smile, “I’m like you,”

 

Carmilla let out a laugh of pure joy and surged forward, kissing Laura hard. Laura sighed happily against Carmilla’s lips, heart swelling at the feeling of Carmilla in her arms again. Carmilla slipped her hands beneath Laura’s cloak and wrapped her arms around Laura’s waist, but she suddenly stopped when Laura let out a pained noise against her lips and stiffened in her arms.

 

“What?” Carmilla asked immediately, pulling away, afraid to hurt Laura again. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach when she noticed that her hand felt sticky, and when she looked down, her heart plummeted when she saw that her hand was scarlet, covered in Laura’s blood. “Laura,” she choked out, looking up at Laura with horror in her eyes.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Laura said quickly, grasping Carmilla’s hand with both of her own. “I’m okay, it’s—it’s the brand, it hasn’t healed,” She leaned forward and kissed Carmilla, who sagged into her, heart still beating erratically.

 

“Let’s get you inside,” Carmilla said gently, gripping Laura’s hand and leading her towards the door. “I’ll dress your back,”

 

Laura nodded, her exhaustion from the trials seeping into her bones. She didn’t even know how long she’d been gone.

 

Murmuring and cheering began among the crowd that had formed near the entrance to the temple and Carmilla helped Laura up the stairs, smiling as she called to her warriors. “Light the cooking fires!!”

 

\-------

 

Carmilla closed the door to their chambers behind them and Laura let out a sigh, the quiet and the familiar scent of home enveloping her.

 

“Sit, please,” Carmilla said gently, ushering her towards their bed. She carefully lifted Laura’s cloak and furs from her shoulders, and gasped at the brand that spanned Laura’s back, exposed and framed by her dress. Even covered in blood, the design was breathtaking, a full moon splayed across Laura’s shoulders and spine, framed by ancient knotwork and runes, the lines glowing a faint silver. “the moon…” Carmilla breathed, fingers ghosting Laura’s shoulder.

 

Laura looked back at her, blushing slightly. “I hope you don’t mind,” She said quietly.

 

Carmilla laughed softly, shaking her head. “It’s yours,” She said, cradling Laura’s cheek and pressing her forehead to Laura’s temple. “it suits you,” She pressed a kiss to Laura’s cheek, breathing in her familiar scent. She swallowed the lump in her throat, resisting her want to all but crawl inside Laura’s chest. “I missed you so much,” She whispered, eyes closing for a moment. She felt Laura’s grip on her tighten.

 

“I missed you too,” Laura said thickly, and leaned up to kiss Carmilla again, deeper this time. Her hands gripped Carmilla’s sleeves with new strength.

 

Carmilla eventually made herself pull away, but kissed down Laura’s neck, burying her nose in Laura’s soft skin. “Let me clean your brand,” She prompted gently, “they’re preparing a feast,” She kissed Laura’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”

 

“Starving,” Laura sighed around a smile as Carmilla went to a small table by their bed to retrieve a basin of water and a soft cloth. She then took a roll of bandages and a glass bottle of a medicinal salve from a chest beside it, and settled down beside Laura on the bed.

 

Carmilla gently pushed Laura’s dress from her shoulders until it pooled around Laura’s waist, and she brushed Laura’s hair over her shoulder before getting to work on gently cleaning Laura’s brand. She dabbed gently at the cuts with the damp cloth, careful not to drag it across her skin, until the dried blood was cleared away, Laura’s back raw and pink. She gently caressed Laura’s waist every time Laura winced or tensed, murmuring softly to her, and then began carefully applying the poultice to Laura’s back. Laura sighed in relief at the cooling effect the poultice had on her back, the pain beginning to ebb slightly, and Carmilla smiled, glad that it was helping. Carmilla began carefully twining the bandage around Laura’s torso, mindful to not wrap it around Laura’s breasts, and carefully tied the bandage when she’d reached Laura’s shoulders, having crossed the bandage under her arms and over her shoulders a few times.

 

“Is that alright?” Carmilla asked, tangling her fingers with Laura as Laura sighed in contentment.

 

“Yeah,” Laura nodded, and gently bumped her head against Carmilla’s.

 

Carmilla smiled softly and kissed Laura’s shoulder again before carefully tugging the sleeves up Laura’s arms again, and clasping the back of the dress around Laura’s neck. “There’s some people who want to see you,” She said with a smile.

 

\-------

 

When Laura and Carmilla entered the feasting hall, a hush fell over those gathered before raucous cheers broke out, and Laura blushed madly, burying her face in Carmilla’s neck. Carmilla laughed, and led Laura to their seats at the great table at the end of the room.

 

“Laura has returned!” Carmilla called over the din of the crown, “She is Goddess of the Moon!”

 

The cheers of the crowd seemed to explode, louder than before, and before Carmilla and Laura had a chance to sit, the other gods descended upon them, hugging and congratulating them both.

 

“Carmilla was ready to bring about the end of the world if you didn’t come home,” Mattie said, smirking affectionately at Laura as Carmilla stood beside her, looking vaguely embarrassed.

 

Laura’s heart broke a little at that, and she squeezed Carmilla’s hand tightly, her vision of Carmilla during the last trial echoing in her head. “I would have been the same way,” She said quietly, moving closer to Carmilla.

 

Carmilla saw the ghost of some agony in Laura’s eyes, and she held her closer, intending to ask about what Laura had seen later when they retired to their chambers.

 

“Holly Girl suits you,” Came a voice, interrupting Carmilla’s thoughts. The Goddess of the Hunt and her wife approached them, smiling, and Laura reached forward to hug them both, but refused to let go of Carmilla’s hand.

 

Mel reached up and touched the holly that was twined around the antlers that sat atop Laura’s head, and Laura laughed softly. “Seems so,”

 

Charlotte touched Laura’s arm, her eyes soft as she looked at the new Goddess. “Are you alright?” She asked, a knowing look in her dark eyes.

 

Laura smiled a little and nodded. “I’m alright,” She said. “though I’m really hungry,” She said with a small laugh.

 

“There’s plenty of food,” Carmilla said with a smile as she kissed Laura’s head, and led her over to their seats at the high table.

 

Carmilla and Mel’s hunters had been working tirelessly to bring home enough meat for all the visitors, and an impressive spread of venison and wild boar, turkey, goose and fish weighed the tables down, surrounded by loafs of bread and jugs of wine and mead and vegetables from the temple’s winter stores. In one corner of the feasting hall, a group of musicians played lively music, songs of celebration known to Mel’s people. Mel’s followers were known for their musical prowess.

 

As they ate, neither Carmilla nor Laura made any move to let go of each other’s hands, and soon Laura found herself in Carmilla’s lap, curled into her side. Carmilla refilled Laura’s drinking horn with wine and cupped her cheek after she put the jug of wine down, kissing her softly. Laura set down her drinking horn so she wouldn’t slosh the wine over the both of them, and tangled her fingers in Carmilla’s hair, kissing her back.

 

Mel rolled her eyes affectionately, shaking her head slightly at the two of them.

 

“Oh hush,” Charlotte smiled, squeezing Mel’s hand. “we weren’t any better eighty years ago.”

 

Mel leaned forward and kissed Charlotte, grinning against her lips. “Fair enough,” Mel murmured.

 

Soon Carmilla and Laura were both full of food and wine, and Laura found her eyelids drooping, but she didn't want to sleep.

 

She couldn’t, anyway.

 

She’d noticed it when she’d found herself on the shores of Inanna’s Crown, but it hadn’t been so strong. So pronounced.

 

Everything was sharper. Clearer, louder. She could see the dust flecks in the air where no light shone, and she could hear the clinking of cutlery against plates and goblets against the table, she could hear the sound of the musicians’ fingers sliding up and down the strings of their instruments, the singer’s breath. She could feel the weave of the fabric of her dress and she could hear the whoosh of Carmilla’s breath through her lungs.

 

She didn’t notice that she’d been squeezing Carmilla’s hand a little too hard until Carmilla moved her hand, and Laura quickly let go, eyes snapping to Carmilla.

 

“Are you alright?” Carmilla asked quietly, her grip around Laura’s wait tightening slightly.

 

Laura swallowed, shaking her head a little to gather her thoughts. “Everything's so...loud,” She said, closing her eyes briefly.

 

Understanding dawned on Carmilla’s face, and she set her goblet down. Laura looked scattered and agitated, and Carmilla chastised herself for not noticing it sooner. “Do you want to go back to our room?” She asked, taking Laura’s hand.

 

Laura nodded, wincing at some especially loud laughter just down the table from them.

 

“Come on,” Carmilla gently prompted, helping Laura to her feet.

 

The two of them bade goodnight to their friends and quietly left the feasting hall. As soon as they left the feasting hall, Laura relaxed slightly, feeling the din of everything lessen, and when they made it to their chambers across the temple, she felt like she could breathe again.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Carmilla said as she closed the door behind them. “I forgot that your senses would become heightened.” She reached out for Laura, but paused, drawing back. “Is touching you too much?” She asked warily.

 

Laura shook her head quickly, stepping forward. “No, I—I want to feel you,” She said, taking Carmilla’s hand.

 

Carmilla smiled and pulled Laura closer, tucking her against her neck, and Laura immediately relaxed, her body sagging against Carmilla’s. Carmilla felt emotion well up in her throat again and she pulled Laura even closer, careful of her back.

 

“I missed you so much,” Carmilla whispered again, “I was so afraid you wouldn’t make it home,”

 

“I missed you too,” Laura breathed, just wanting to curl around Carmilla and not leave their chambers for an age. She nuzzled Carmilla’s neck lovingly and began to kiss her soft skin, gently nipping at her with her teeth.

 

Carmilla smiled, humming in contentment as she stroked Laura’s hair. “Do you want to go to sleep?”

 

“Not yet,” Laura murmured between kisses, and reached up to press a kiss to Carmilla’s lips. “Carm?” She asked after a moment. Carmilla hummed again, her eyes soft. “Make love to me?” Laura sighed.

 

Carmilla’s brows drew together. “But your back,” Carmilla said, tenderly stroking Laura’s back over her bandage. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

Laura shook her head. “Please,” she nearly begged, “I just want to feel you.” She pressed another kiss to Carmilla’s jaw, and sighed contentedly against her skin. “unless you don’t want to, then we won’t.” She smiled a little at Carmilla, no bite in her words. They always asked.

 

Carmilla breathed out a laugh, reaching up to untie Laura’s headdress and lift it from her brow. She kissed Laura’s forehead. “Of course I want to,” She said, and set Laura’s headdress down on a small table before cradling Laura’s head between her hands and kissing her deeply. Carmilla’s hands eventually slipped to tangle with Laura’s, and she led her towards the bed. “I love you,” She whispered between kisses, and when she reached the bedside, she left a lingering kiss at the base of Laura’s neck and then dropped to her knees to remove Laura’s boots.

 

“I love you too,” Laura said softly, smiling as she watched Carmilla take the utmost care as she slipped her boots from her feet.

 

Carmilla stayed on her knees and leaned up, kissing Laura’s stomach as she slipped her hands under Laura’s dress to pull her leather leggings and undergarments down, gently squeezing Laura’s ass with a smirk as she did so. Laura laughed softly and pulled her up again, kicking off her leggings as she pulled Carmilla’s embroidered tunic off over her head, and she was momentarily left breathless at the sight of Carmilla’s dark curls wild around her shoulders, black smeared around her eyes. Laura leaned up and kissed Carmilla again as she undid Carmilla’s belt, pushing Carmilla’s leather pants from her hips. Carmilla kicked her boots off with a grin, and reached around Laura’s neck to unclasp her dress, and she kissed Laura’s neck as she carefully pushed the dress from her shoulders, letting it pool around Laura’s feet.

 

Even bandaged, Laura was a thing of beauty in the warm light of the fires, her honey hair splayed around her shoulders, white paint smudged around her soft hazel eyes, runes written down her neck, her skin pebbled from the slight chill in the room. She looked even bit a goddess and Carmilla was in awe of her. Carmilla tucked Laura’s hair behind her ears and kissed her softly, thumbs caressing Laura’s jaw. “You’re so beautiful,” Carmilla whispered, and Laura’s cheeks reddened. Carmilla’s eyes flicked to the fire at the end of their bed and the torches on the walls, encouraging the flames to grow to keep them warm as she crawled onto their bed, shuffling back. She beckoned for Laura to follow, and Laura crawled after her.

 

“I feel like I’m seeing you for the first time,” Laura breathed, crawling into Carmilla’s lap, her thighs hugging Carmilla’s waist. She cradled Carmilla’s face between her hands, eyes roaming Carmilla’s face. She could see flecks of deep brown, almost black around Carmilla’s pupils, and flecks of gold around the outer edges of her irises. She ran her thumb along the red smear that partially circled Carmilla’s eye, surprised when it didn’t wipe away. She could see the ever so faint golden light emanating from the constellations on Carmilla’s back, and the peaks and valleys of the scar on Carmilla’s shoulder and she could hear Carmilla’s breath and her heartbeat and inflections in her voice she’d never heard before and she was overwhelmed by it all.

 

Carmilla’s hand came up to rest upon Laura’s, both of their thumbs caressing the red smear around Carmilla’s eye. “It became part of me,” Carmilla said, giving Laura a soft smile as she leaned forward and kissed her.

 

Laura swallowed back tears as she kissed Carmilla back, all too aware of how close she’d gotten to losing this. Losing Carmilla.

 

When they broke apart for air, Carmilla pressed tender kisses down her neck, breathing in Laura’s soft, familiar scent of linen and wood smoke and _Laura_ , her arms carefully encircling Laura’s waist. “Tell me what you need,” She murmured against Laura’s cheek. “I don’t want to hurt you,”

 

“Just this,” Laura sighed, “this is perfect,” She took Carmilla’s hand and raised it to her breast as she leaned in to kiss Carmilla again, and she moaned softly into Carmilla’s mouth as Carmilla began to knead her breast, gently pinching at her nipple. Laura whimpered as she ran her fingers through Carmilla’s hair, and Carmilla chuckled against Laura's lips. Carmilla nipped Laura’s lips gently before stooping down to press kisses down Laura’s right breast, and then took her peaked nipple between her lips, tonguing it gently as her hand descended between Laura’s legs.

 

Laura let out a shuddering gasp as Carmilla dragged her fingers through her soaking folds, her pleasure amplified by Carmilla’s moans against her chest. Laura scratched lightly at Carmilla’s back, trying to ground herself. Carmilla’s soft touches and strokes felt far more intense than they ever had, and Laura let out a ragged moan when Carmilla began rubbing slow circles against her clit.

 

“Carm, yes,” Laura gasped, leaning down to bury her face in Carmilla’s neck, her own hand cupping Carmilla’s breast, kneading gently. Laura gently bit at Carmilla’s neck where she liked it, coaxing soft moans from her, and Laura began bucking her hips against Carmilla’s hand. She felt like her body was on fire, she could feel every little sensation, every brush of Carmilla’s fingers against her heated skin, tenfold.

 

“Look at me,” Carmilla said lovingly, gently prodding Laura’s shoulder to coax her to pick her head up. She cupped Laura’s cheek. “I want to see you,” Carmilla smiled at the blush coloring Laura’s cheeks, the soft, heady look in her honey eyes, the crease of her brow. “You’re so beautiful,” She breathed, smiling as she teased Laura’s entrance.

 

Laura’s hips squirmed as she laughed, pinching Carmilla’s nipple a little harder than usual, grinning widely at Carmilla’s surprised squeak. “Carm, please,” Laura begged, her chest heaving. The throbbing between her legs was almost unbearable. She could feel herself getting close, and she blushed slightly at how quickly she was reaching the edge. “ _Carm_ ,” She moaned again as Carmilla lazily dragged a finger along Laura’s slit.

 

Carmilla chuckled and finally gave in. Looking into Laura’s eyes, she slowly pushed two fingers into her, and she bit her lip, feeling herself nearly dripping as she watched Laura’s eyes roll back, a keening moan escaping her lips as her back arched.

 

Laura’s nails dug into Carmilla’s shoulders as Carmilla began to pump her fingers, her palm rubbing circles into her clit. Laura’s breath came in high pitched gasps as she began to ruck against Carmilla’s hand, and Carmilla sped up, curling and twisting her fingers the way Laura loved.

 

Laura suddenly cried out as she came, her eyes flying open as wetness gushed over Carmilla’s fingers. She slumped in Carmilla’s arms, shaking from her release, little whimpers coming from her throat as she tried to move, but couldn’t. She felt dazed, like she was floating, and all she could do was curl around Carmilla, her body trembling.

 

Carmilla laughed softly as she held Laura as she came down from her high, stroking her back and slowly moving her fingers between Laura’s legs. She eventually stopped though when Laura began to twitch, squirming away. “That was quick, sweetheart,” Carmilla grinned, brushing Laura’s hair back when Laura finally was able to sit up. Her eyes were heavily lidded, a dopey smile on her face, her cheeks bright red.

 

“It felt like...like lightning,” Laura breathed “how do you not pass out?”

 

"I have a few thousand years on you, libeling,” Carmilla said with a smirk and pressed a kiss to Laura’s lips. Laura laughed into her mouth and Carmilla felt her heart swell, she pressed kiss after kiss down Laura’s neck and chest, causing Laura to giggle happily, squirming in her arms.

 

Laura tilted Carmilla’s chin up and kissed her lovingly. “Lay down,” She said quietly, carefully climbing out of Carmilla’s lap. She was a little stiff from sitting that way, and her body ached from the trials, but she smiled as she watched Carmilla shuffle down the bed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

 

Carmilla looked up at her, laid out against their furs and blankets eyes tired and lidded, a smile on her lips. Laura grinned at her, and settled down on her stomach between her legs. She took her time kissing up Carmilla’s thighs, sucking soft bruises into her pale skin. Above her, Carmilla sighed in contentment, eyes fluttering closed. Laura smiled as she watched her, and slid her arms beneath Carmilla’s thighs, hiking them over her shoulders, and even though Carmilla’s eyes were closed, she knew Laura was reaching for her. Carmilla laced their fingers together, and a soft moan bled out between her lips as Laura gently nuzzled between her legs before dragging her tongue through Carmilla’s folds. Carmilla gasped, her fingers tightening around Laura’s, and Laura smiled as she began to swirl her tong around Carmilla’s clit.

 

Laura moved slow and lazy, both of them exhausted. She caressed Carmilla’s hip with her free hand, taking her time and blowing cool air over Carmilla’s center when she needed to stop to breathe. Carmilla slowly moved her hips in time with Laura, whimpering as she watched Laura’s head bob between her legs, Laura’s golden hair splayed over her thigh. She could see a faint silver glow through the bandages on Laura’s back, and Carmilla smiled, knowing it meant Laura was happy, if Laura’s brand was like her own. Carmilla was careful to make sure that her heels didn’t dig into Laura’s back as she moved her hips, her moans coming more frequent the longer Laura paid attention to her clit.

 

Laura tongued Carmilla’s clit, occasionally moving down to dip her tongue into Carmilla’s entrance.

 

“Laura please, yes,” Carmilla gasped, her chest heaving, “ _Laura_ ,”

 

Laura groaned, loving the sound of Carmilla moaning her name, and shifted to slip her hand out from under Carmilla’s thigh. She looked up at Carmilla, and they locked eyes as Laura gently eased a finger into her, and Carmilla whimpered, nearly crying at the feeling of Laura enveloping her. Laura could feel the emotion radiating from her lover and shuffled closer, stroking her thumb along Carmilla’s hand as she began to move her finger inside Carmilla, and soon added a second, moaning with Carmilla.

 

They were both content with their slow pace, content to just feel each other, love each other. Laura continued to move her fingers, her tongue swirling over Carmilla’s clit, and she smiled as Carmilla’s languid moans became quick, stuttered gasps, and soon Carmilla’s release washed over her, her hips jerking, fingers tight around Laura’s. Laura moaned and continued to drag her tongue through Carmilla’s folds, groaning at the taste of her.

 

“Laura, Laura,” Carmilla gasped, squirming away, far too sensitive for Laura’s continuing ministrations. “Laura, too much,”

 

Laura pulled back, panting, and carefully pulled her fingers from Carmilla and wiped her mouth, all the while smiling up at Carmilla. “Sorry,” she breathed, crawling up Carmilla’s body and settling down beside her on her stomach.

 

“It’s alright, Liebling,” Carmilla sighed, closing her eyes. Her chest was still heaving, sweat on her brow. “come here,” She reached out for Laura, gently tugging her closer, and soon, Laura was draped over Carmilla’s chest, her face tucked into neck. She pulled the blankets and furs over the two of them and held Laura close.

 

“I missed this so much,” Laura sighed, her arm curling around Carmilla a little tighter. “I hated sleeping without you.”

 

Carmilla finally opened her eyes, and reached up to gently stroke Laura’s hair. “I hated it too,” She whispered, kissing Laura’s head. “I barely slept,” She held Laura a little tighter.

 

Laura pressed a soft kiss to Carmilla’s neck, letting out a contented sigh. She couldn’t keep her eyes open, the warmth of their bed and the familiar scent of Carmilla’s skin lulling her sleep.

 

“Sleep, Laura,” Carmilla whispered, not far from sleep herself. “sleep,”

 

\-------

 

Hours later, Carmilla was slowly awoken by something, but she couldn’t make out what it was right away. Their chambers were still dark, the only source of light being the fire at the end of their bed. Laura was still beside her, blankets pulled up around them, and Carmilla was confused.

 

But then she heard it.

 

A low whimper came from beside Carmilla, and Carmilla suddenly felt Laura shake against her, hands trembling as her head jerked.

 

“Carm,” Laura whimpered in her sleep, and Carmilla suddenly realized that the wetness against her neck were tears. Laura’s tears. “Carmilla,” Laura whimpered again, her voice fearful. “Carm, Carmilla, please…no, don’t—“

 

“Laura,” Carmilla said softly, finally snapping out of it. “Laura, hey, it’s okay, wake up sweetheart,” She shook Laura’s shoulder, heart breaking at the pain in Laura’s voice.

 

“Carm!” Laura cried louder this time, still trapped in her nightmare. “I’m here, Carm, I’m here—“

 

“Laura!” Carmilla called, shaking her again, and Laura’s eyes flew open with a gasp, her small frame still shaking against Carmilla’s body. “Laura, hey, it’s me, you’re alright,” Carmilla said tenderly, cupping Laura’s cheek as she tried to catch her eye.

 

Laura looked at her, wide eyed and confused for a moment, before her face crumpled, fresh tears welling in her honey eyes, and she curled around Carmilla, shaking with quiet sobs.

 

Carmilla wrapped an arm around Laura’s waist, her other hand cradling the back of her head. Carmilla’s heart broke at Laura’s pain, worry eating at her insides. She had seen the haunted look in Laura’s eyes when she’d returned from the trials, but she hadn’t wanted to pry just yet. “Laura, what is it?” She asked softly, “what did you see in the trials?”

 

A few moments passed before Laura finally lifted her head, looking down at Carmilla with wet, red eyes. Carmilla reached up and wiped her tears away, her brow creased in worry.

 

“I saw you,” Laura whispered. She closed her eyes for a moment, swallowing a fresh wave of tears. “the last trial, it was in my head.” She explained, “I saw you, but it wasn’t you.” She shook her head. “It was a different you, like from a different world. In-in that world I hadn’t gone through the trials, and Inanna, she’d killed me.”

 

Carmilla’s heart rose into her throat, and she held Laura tighter. “What?” She croaked.

 

“You-you told me that, in that world, Inanna had shot me through the heart with an arrow made of mistletoe and you couldn’t heal me. You wouldn’t believe that it was me, you thought I was a trick that Inanna conjured up to torture you and you kept begging me to kill you so you could see me again and I couldn’t, I couldn’t, and you, you cracked the sky open,” Laura took a shuddering breath, “I got you to believe me, eventually, and you saw that it was me, but Inanna, she turned you to stone again in front of me and I couldn’t bring you back, I kept kissing you but I couldn’t turn you back,” Laura dissolved into tears again, her insides aching as the memories played over and over in her head, and Carmilla sat up, pulling Laura with her and into her lap. “Bagheera and the panthers were dead and the temple, the forest was burning and I could hear your screams,” Laura whimpered into Carmilla’s neck.

 

Carmilla held her tightly, fingers tangled in Laura’s tousled hair. “It’s okay, it wasn’t real,” She said softly, kissing Laura’s head. “It wasn’t real,”

 

Laura’s tears slowed eventually, and she rested her head on Carmilla’s shoulder, stroking Carmilla’s side. “You were so sad,” She whispered, and sniffled a little. “and so angry.” She pressed a kiss to Carmilla’s neck, her arms tightening around her. “I just wanted to fix it,” She sighed. “make you happy again,”

 

Carmilla tilted Laura’s chin up and kissed her softly. “I am happy,” She said softly, brushing Laura’s tears away, thumbs stroking Laura’s cheeks. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, with you. That me, you saw, I…I probably would have become that, had I lost you,” Carmilla admitted, her eyes downcast. “Inanna knows you're my weakness, that you’re the one thing I cannot bear to lose.” She felt Laura’s hand at her cheek and she looked up again to find Laura watching her with soft, tired eyes. “Even so,” She sighed, “what you saw wasn’t real. We’re here and we’re safe, and nothing will ever part us again, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Laura whispered, nodding.

 

Carmilla gave her a watery smile, and carefully wrapped them both in a blanket, leaning back against the head of their bed. They were both quiet for a while, content to just listen to the other breathe, curled close to one another.

 

“Laura?” Carmilla asked after some time, looking down at her.

 

Laura straightened up a little, and looked at her with a small smile. “Yeah?”

 

“Marry me?” Carmilla asked quietly, sincerely, eyes wide and loving in the dark.

 

Laura’s eyes widened, and suddenly a laugh bubbled up from her throat, loud and joyful, and she surged forward, kissing Carmilla hard. “Yes,” She gasped against Carmilla’s lips. “Gods, Carm, yes,” Laura pulled back for air and took in the relived, blissful look on Carmilla’s face, and her laughter continued. “Carm, I just became immortal for you, did you really think I would say no?” She tucked Carmilla’s hair behind her ear, watching her turn scarlet.

 

Carmilla ducked her head, smiling madly. “I’ve..I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but…I didn’t want to ask before you left,”

 

She leaned up and kissed Laura again, happy tears welling up in their eyes. When they parted, Carmilla took Laura’s left hand, fingers ghosting over her ring finger, and Laura suddenly felt a weight on her finger, and when she looked down, she saw a silver band on her finger, etched with runes, and set with a red stone that looked like a holly berry.

 

“I love you,” Laura breathed taking Carmilla’s face between her hands and kissed her desperately.

 

“I love you too,” Carmilla sighed, nearly blinded by Laura’s smile, and the radiant silver light that seemed to surround her like a halo.

 


End file.
